Windows 7: Seven Windows 7 Tips

While we're all thinking of Windows 8, Windows 7 adoptions at many enterprises continues. Some industry surveys project migrations to peak even as Windows 8 makes its debut some time next year.
With that, here are seven quick and totally random but useful tips that might save you some work as you migrate over to the current OS:

1. Record Problems. The Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) is a great new feature that helps in troubleshooting a system. At times, Remote Assistance may not be possible. However, if a person types psr in their Instant Search, it will launch the recorder. Now they can perform the actions needed to recreate the problem and each click will record the screen and the step. They can even add comments. Once complete, the PSR compiles the whole thing into an MHTML file and zips it up so that it can be e-mailed for analysis to the network admin (or family problem solver, depending on how it's being used).

2. Employ Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM). If you quickly want to list or manage Windows packages, features or drivers, use the command-line utility DISM. The "image" in the name may fool you into thinking that this is solely a deployment tool. An online command-line switch lets you manage the features in the currently loaded OS. To get a list of the loaded Windows features, enter dism /online /get-features /format:table. To enable a feature, enter dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:.

3. Embrace Troubleshooting Packs. Designed to help users troubleshoot and solve problems on their own, you need to update your support procedures to acknowledge these Packs. For example, don't force users to repeat steps the Pack already walked them through, and consider developing your own Packs (in Windows PowerShell) to support in-house systems.

4. Check Reliability.The Reliability Monitor was introduced in Windows Vista as 'The Reliability and Performance Monitor." In Windows 7 it has been separated from Performance Monitor and moved to a new location under the Action Center. You open the Action Center in Control Panel and then look under the Maintenance options for the "View reliability history" link. You can also just type in Reliability Monitor from the Instant Search.

5. Restore Point Previews. Many of us used to shut off System Restore because we were
terrified to actually use it; under Windows 7, we can be much calmer. After selecting a Restore Point, Windows will now offer to show you which files and folders will be affected by restoring to that point.

6. Remote Desktop Console. Windows 7 Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) does not include a console-based remote desktop utility. And even if it did, the standard remote desktop console has some nagging limitations: It can't move connections around in the list; it can't sort by folders and so forth. If you manage lots of servers from your Windows 7 workstation, try downloading a copy of mRemote from mremote.org. This donation-requested utility allows you to mix together a variety of remote control applications, including Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA), Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Virtual Network Computing (VNC), Secure Shell (SSH) and rlogin. All host names are displayed in a standard tree control that can be divided into folders, sorted alphabetically, and allow you to assign different logon accounts and secure passwords to each connection.

7. Simplify Cloned Machine Setups. You can't run Sysinternals' newsid utility to change the identity of a cloned Windows 7 machine (either a virtual machine or imaged PC). Instead, create a template installation then run sysprep /oobe /generalize /reboot /shutdown /unattend:scriptfile. Clone or copy this virtual machine file. When it launches, it will get a new SID and you can fill in the name. The reference for building unattended script files is at tinyurl.com/winunattend.

- Windows 7: Seven Wonders of Windows 7

The number seven denotes grandeur, as with the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It's shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that following the Windows Vista debacle, Microsoft chose to return to a numerical naming system for the next version of Windows. But if Microsoft is going to impress users with Windows 7, it's going to have to do it with features and functionality, not just with a name. So, what amazing new capabilities await users in the latest -- and perhaps most complete -- client version of Windows ever? Here's a look at seven of the wonders of Windows 7.

1. Onboard PowerShell Version 2.0
While the typical user may not know what to do with Windows PowerShell just yet, IT is seeing the strength this tool gives them on the server level. With PowerShell now on the desktop comes the ability to perform remoting. Using WS-Management, users can employ cmdlets and scripting on literally hundreds of remote systems by fanning out remote commands. As a result, IT managers can use PowerShell commands to monitor or maintain systems, collect data, run scripts, distribute necessary updates and enforce changes uniformly on multiple systems. PowerShell remoting is like using Remote Desktop at the command-line level. One of the coolest factors it offers is that remote users don't even know a command is running -- unlike with Remote Desktop, which takes control of a system -- because PowerShell remoting runs the command or script in a hidden window.

2. AppLocker
Microsoft introduced Software Restriction Policies (SRP) in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 as a means for identifying and controlling which applications can run on a system. XP and Server 2003 enforced those policies using a variety of simple factors, such as file names, path locations and hash calculations. Although SRP is generally a force for good in the world of network control, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 replace it and provide new levels of control that can help protect a company's environment. Mark Russinovich, technical fellow in the Platform and Services division at Microsoft, has called AppLocker SRP "on steroids."

Through Group Policy or the Local Security Policy, IT managers can create rules and exceptions with a simple slider that allows them to dial up or down (up being more lenient, down being stricter) the level of network control.

3. Navigation Enhancements
Anything that allows users to perform work more easily is worth mentioning. The Instant Search feature, which first appeared in Vista, is an excellent time-saving feature.

Windows 7 follows up on that with Jump Lists. Jump Lists will become a staple to the navigation of pinned taskbar applications and open applications. The ability to quickly access recent Web sites or documents, or open an application directly to the appropriate mode through the taskbar or the start menu, is very helpful.

4. The Action Center
At first glance, Windows 7 users might think, "Isn't this just the Security Center with a new name?" In fact, the Action Center is a combination of both security and maintenance information as well as configuration options. The user not only sees security statistics such as virus protection, malware protection and updates, but also maintenance status, including backups and available drivers (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Windows 7 Action Center.

It's from within the Action Center that a user locates the User Account Control (UAC) slider. Users can also alter the Action Center settings; that allows you to turn on and off both security and maintenance messages. Users will never again have to deal with messages about not having anti-virus software installed.

In addition, under the maintenance settings, users can locate the link "view reliability history," which will take them to the Reliability Monitor. New in Vista, Microsoft originally combined the Reliability Monitor with the Performance Monitor. However, in Windows 7 the Reliability Monitor is now its own separate tool, and it's located in the Action Center.

5. The Problem-Steps Recorder
Remote Assistance is an incredible feature for assisting users online. Windows 7 offers a new twist on Remote Assistance with a feature called Easy Connect. Remote Desktop, though typically a tool one might use for working remotely, is also a good for remote diagnosis. There's also the problem-steps recorder, an easy-to-use application that lets users troubleshoot problems without having to be live online. The person with a problem turns on the recorder by typing "PSR" in the Instant Search option of the Start Menu, and proceeds to re-create the problem. Once the user with the problem stops the recording, the problem-steps recorder puts together a .ZIP file with an MHTML report of the step-by-step actions and screenshots that the user took. That user can then e-mail the file to an IT manager, who can diagnose the problem when he has the time.

Windows Live Applications

While Windows 7 still offers integrated Internet Explorer, Media Player, Media Center and DVD Maker, some applications have moved out of the OS and into a separate Windows Live Essentials download package. (One of the interesting things about Windows 7 is that users can go to the Programs and Features applet through Control Panel and remove preinstalled applications, including IE.) Users can pick and choose from among the applications, which will install on systems running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista, as well as Windows 7. At press time, these applications include the following:

-Live Messenger: This tool is for sending instant messages to contacts or groups, playing games, sharing pictures during a chat and keeping up to date on what's new with friends and colleagues.

-Live Mail: This provides access to one or multiple e-mail accounts within one program, while also providing newsgroups, feeds and a calendar. Through a Windows Live account users can maintain and view their calendars online and see when messenger contacts are available to chat.

-Live Photo Gallery: Here, users can edit, view, organize and share photos. It's possible to tag people in photos and stitch pictures together into panoramas.

-Live Toolbar: When added to IE, this toolbar gives at-a-glance access to Windows Live Hotmail, photos, calendars and more.

-Live Writer: This application lets users create formatted blog posts, including photos, videos, maps, events and tags, and publish them to almost any blog service, including Windows Live, WordPress, Blogger, Live Journal and TypePad.

-Live Family: Safety Taking Parental Control to a new, online level, this provides control of how kids experience the Internet. Users can block or allow certain Web sites and contacts and monitor through activity logging where their kids are going online.

-Live Movie Maker: This lets users add and arrange video clips and photos, add a soundtrack, preview a movie and then publish the results to any of several popular video sites.

Additional items for download include the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector, the Office Live Add-in and Microsoft Silverlight.

6. BranchCache
The purpose of BranchCache is to improve the speed with which users can obtain data from a remote location when working from a branch office with a slow or over-utilized WAN connection. When a Windows 7 client at a branch location accesses content that's stored on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system, Windows 7 can locally cache a copy of the data accessed, either from an intranet site or from a file server. This reduces the wait time for other branch-office users accessing the same data. When the next user attempts to access the same information, the access is near immediate.

4 Features that Aren't 'Wonders'

There are certain Windows 7 features that are not outstanding, but still merit a mention. Others are downright worthless.

Ribbon Interface WordPad and Paint get the new ribbon. The overhaul is a nice visual change, and there are some new brushes in Paint as well, but nothing here is a "wonder."

The Show Desktop Sliver This feature lets users see through their open windows to their desktops when they click on the sliver. It also lets users see gadgets by rendering open windows transparent when users move a mouse cursor over the sliver. It's an awesome feature, but not a "wonder."

Credential Manager This is a new tool located in the Control Panel designed to help maintain credentials -- user names and passwords -- for those systems or sites that can use the Credential Manager solution. The idea is great, as is the fact that the new features keep credentials in a vault that can be backed up, too. But Credential Manager is limited to those sites that will work with it. Almost a "wonder" -- but not yet.

Homegroups Sharing music, pictures and documents has never been easier. Homegroups help to simplify the tasks in sharing within a home network. And while on the one hand that's wonderful, it isn't exactly a "wonder" to create a simple way to share photos in the year 2010.

BranchCache can work in one of two modes: Distributed Cache, where the Windows 7 clients retain the copies in a peer-to-peer architecture, which prevents the need for a server to be located at the branch location, or Hosted Cache, where a branch-located server retains a copy of the data.

7. Windows Explorer Enhancements
Vista users who open a Windows 7 Explorer window aren't likely to immediately see this "wonder." They may notice the new Show/Hide Preview Pane button in the top right-hand corner, along with a new location for the Views option. Upon first glance, users may not catch the concept of Libraries. And unless they've installed a Federated Search connector, users won't notice the ability to search Flickr, for example, from within Windows Explorer.

-Top 7 Internet Explorer 8 Features

Although Internet Explorer 8 is part of Windows 7, it's also a separate piece that users can download to other operating systems. In that sense, IE8 could not be a formal part of the Windows 7 wonders list. However, IE8 has its own list of wonders worth mentioning. They include:

Suggested Sites
This feature notes what sites a user recently visited and offers suggestions that match the user's perceived tastes. Some may view this is a breach of personal security, but fortunately it can be turned off.

Accelerators
A new blue box appears to help users define words, translate words, look up addresses, search Wikipedia and perform a host of other tasks.

Web Slices
This feature provides an easy way to keep track of an eBay item up for bid or a stock price, without having to be on a physical site. Web Slices show users just those portions of the sites that matter most to them. A green square shows users whether a site has this RSS-oriented feature.

InPrivate Browsing
Especially handy for using IE at an Internet café or a conference kiosk, InPrivate Browsing allows users to search the Web and check e-mail and banking information without any fear that the information will be retained and viewed by a future user.

InPrivate Filtering
Behind the scenes of a Web site, there may be information passed to a site that users would prefer not be provided. Users can filter that from happening completely or can pick and choose which sites they want to block.

SmartScreen Filter
Microsoft has enhanced the Phishing Filter in IE7 to provide more security in IE8. More than just a new name, the SmartScreen Filter provides improvements in performance and support.

The IE8 Jump List
One of the more helpful jump lists provided, the IE8 jump list (only available if IE8 is used on a Windows 7 system) allows users to pin favorites to the jump list, return to recently used sites off the jump list, launch InPrivate Browsing or simply go to a new tab. Very helpful indeed.

Starting with Libraries, Windows has preconfigured libraries for documents, music, pictures and videos. By opening the Document Library (see Figure 2), users see that the data in that library is actually aggregated from two folders: My Documents and Public Documents. Users can add others, too.

Figure 2. The Windows 7 Document Library.

In creating a new library, users have the ability to aggregate an unlimited number of folders and then optimize the library for storage of different types of files: music, videos, pictures and so on. With the current rate of desktop data sprawl coming from multiple sources -- e-mail, downloads, digital cameras and the like -- users need a way to organize that data. The Libraries feature is easy to use and works well. One handy feature is that a user can delete a library without having to worry about deleting any of the data stored in it. The data is in folders, but the library is just a view of that data coming from multiple sources.

Windows 7: Complete
Windows 7 certainly feels complete, and, indeed, Microsoft released it to manufacturing in July and will make it generally available next month. The new OS appears to be one that will calm the Vista critics and please users. Will wonders never cease?

- Windows 7: 10 Reasons to Love Windows 7

Unless you've been stuck on a desert island for the last six months, you know that the big buzz is the impending release of Windows 7 and its partner, Windows Server 2008 R2.

Now, I'm a guy who hates change in the desktop. I always turn on the classic view and still run Windows XP on my laptop. I don't like having to re-learn where things are and how to do common tasks.

But with Windows 7, it was love at first byte. I've been running Windows 7 since March, and I can't wait for the official release next month. Of course, there are a few drawbacks to the new operating system, and I even have my doubts about some its most touted features. So, here are my top 10 reasons why you should move to Windows 7 -- and a few notes of caution.

1. Resistance Is Futile!
It's sad but true. Unless you want to pay exorbitant extended support fees for software that's out of the mainline support window, you have to upgrade. Typically, you have an automatic upgrade if you have a PC-refresh cycle every three years or so, so that will take care of your Windows 7 move. The graphic in Figure 1 shows my Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 upgrade roadmap.

Microsoft hopes IT shops will move to its latest server along with the latest client. The last time Microsoft released a big server Service Pack (SP) was for Windows Server 2003 R2, but that was really just a set of new options: SharePoint, Distributed File System Replication (DFSR), services for Unix and other features that had no bearing on the OS. The OS had the same binaries and the same SP requirements, and you didn't have to upgrade to R2 to get to Windows Server 2008. By contrast, Windows Server 2008 R2 is a whole new OS, using the Windows 7 code tree. It includes new binaries and new SPs. In addition, it will only run on x64 servers, and currently there's no upgrade path, even from Windows Server 2008.

Given the new features of Windows 7 and its counterpart Windows Server 2008 R2, you may want to consider an upgrade sooner than what your normal refresh cycle would offer.

2. Upgrades Made Easy
The "no upgrade from XP" statement is a little frightening for those who gave up on Windows Vista and went back to XP. Now you have to deal with moving user data from XP to Windows 7. As Figure 1 shows, you can upgrade from Vista SP1 to Windows 7, or you can use the User State Migration Tool (USMT) from the Windows Automated Installation Kit to "migrate" to Windows 7. There are a couple of important points here. While you can't upgrade from XP, the installation allows you to keep an older version -- either XP or Vista -- of Windows. This means that after the dust settles, you'll have:

• Your old Windows directory. This contains the old Documents and Settings folder, Program Files folder and the Windows folder from the XP installation. You can move the files and folders, which are saved in the Windows 7 installation, from XP to the new Windows 7 locations manually, or with the USMT. Note that user profiles are now in the C:\Users directory; there's no more Documents and Settings directory. There are some excellent articles and webcasts at microsoft.com/springboard that show how to move files with very simple scripting.
• Original data directories, which remain intact.

3. Networking Enhancements
This may be the thing that pushes you to Windows 7. DirectAccess (DA) is a nearly invisible virtual private network (VPN) connection that's created as needed. Suppose you're at a hotel with no VPN connection to your company intranet, and you have an e-mail asking you to review a document on the corporate intranet. With DA, when you click on the link, DA makes the connection to the intranet, you do your work and close the browser, and the connection is gone.

DA will allow a client to connect to the Internet, company intranet and a local network (this is known as split tunneling). The goal is to make the remote user experience the same as that of a user in the corporate office.

It's pretty cool how this is accomplished using Domain Name System (DNS) and the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT), as shown in Figure 2. This works much like the DNS conditional forwarding in Windows 2003. In addition to the DNS definitions in the TCP/IP properties on each client, there's the NRPT. In the NRPT, you define a Fully Qualified Domain Name of your intranet -- for example, contoso.com -- and associate it with the IP address of a DNS server resolvable from the Internet. So, when I go to whatever.contoso.com, it takes the shortcut to the company DNS server and gets resolved, and away we go. If I want to go to microsoft.com and there's no definition, then it goes through the normal DNS resolver table as we do today.

The downside of DA is that it will only work on Windows 7 clients that connect to Windows Server 2008 R2 servers. One large, global company told me that DA is its solution to a host of remote access problems, and that the company is adopting it immediately.

The DA Early Adopter's Guide, which you can download here, has a lot of good, in-depth details on how this works and how to set it up.

4. BranchCache
BranchCache is usually mentioned with DA as a crown jewel of Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. However, I'm not so enthused about BranchCache. The basic premise is to cache documents obtained from the corporate site file servers locally on client computers. Then, when another user in that site wants the same document, they obtain it from the other client's cache. This is called Distributed Cache Mode.

You can add a caching server in the remote site so that the documents are cached on it rather than on a user's workstation. This is called Hosted Cache Mode. The client always contacts the file server at the hub site, and if the local copy is not available, the client gets a copy from the file server. Maybe I'm all wrong, but here are the problems I see with BranchCache:

• Distributed Cache Mode turns every client into a server. While you can limit the disk space used, it can slow down a user's workstation.
• How does it deal with write lock and versioning? That is, if I cache a document on my computer -- a copy -- and Joe, in another site, goes to the file server and gets another copy of the document and caches it, whose changes get saved? Do you end up with multiple versions? I haven't seen any detail on how this is handled. Maybe Microsoft has taken care of it, but you should look into this. (As of this writing, Microsoft has not updated me on this issue despite requests for information.) I see no advantage of Hosted Cache Mode over Distributed File System (DFS). If I were going to put a file server in a remote site, I'd implement DFS, replicate it to the hub site and back it up. Hosted Cache Mode seems like a poor man's DFS.

5. VHD Features
Microsoft is really pushing virtual hard disk (VHD) for a variety of solutions, including backup. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 allow users to:

• Create a VHD. This can then be activated, mounted, assigned a drive letter and formatted in Disk Manager. It's very simple to back up a single VHD.
• View an existing VHD. This allows you to open a VHD and view and manipulate the contents.
• Boot from a VHD. You can actually build a Windows 7 image in a VHD. You can store it on a large USB drive and boot the client from the USB. This is handy for recovery from a crash as well as for training labs.

6. Improved Performance
My first impression of Windows 7 was its incredible performance boost -- and I've heard similar reports from others. After installing flawlessly on my three-year-old Compaq nc6220 laptop, I immediately noticed a much faster boot time. Internet Explorer 8 was also blazingly fast. This was the same old laptop, the same Internet connection from home, the same everything -- except with Windows 7 and IE8.

Windows 7 uses Vista drivers, so there should be few hardware-compatibility issues. I subscribe to my company's internal Windows 7 discussion forum, and the overwhelming opinion is that everything works. Obviously, there are issues with specific apps, such as remote access connections, but our internal remote access connection, after some work and massage by IT, works just fine.

7. PowerShell
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 both come with Windows PowerShell version 2.0, although R2 still requires it to be installed as a feature. PowerShell is not a compelling reason on its own to justify a migration, but the new version has some intriguing advantages. With nearly 250 new cmdlets, including many for Active Directory functions, IT professionals will find new power in PowerShell version 2.0. A large number of AD functions can be performed with single cmdlets, making it easier for managers without PowerShell experience to be productive.

In addition to the AD cmdlets, the WS-Management function allows commands or PowerShell scripts to be executed remotely on other computers. These can be executed on either a single computer or multiple computers, and are executed in the background of those computers so the user is unaware of the action. Now, instead of bothering users and disrupting their work for IT staff to make a remote connection, PowerShell commands can be executed without interruption. Multi-line comments and new search features are among other version 2.0 additions.

The only unfortunate thing is that, when executing operations in GUIs, the equivalent PowerShell command is not exposed. For instance, in Exchange 2007, if I create a user in the Exchange System Manager, at the end it displays the PowerShell command that's actually used to create that user. I can save that to a text file and then use it as an example to do similar functions. This is nice if you're trying to figure out a PowerShell command or function and can't get the syntax correct: just perform the operation in the UI, and the PowerShell command is produced for you. However, this is not available in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Note: You can download and install PowerShell version 2.0 on XP, Vista and Windows Server 2003, but you'll also need .NET Framework 2.0 -- or 3.5.1, if you use the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment -- along with WinRM 2.0 for WS-Management.

8. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a relatively new term for a somewhat mature technology. While server virtualization is all the rage, desktop virtualization is just getting a good foothold in many corporations. The old Microsoft Terminal Services, which really came into its own during the Windows 2000 days, is a good example of one VDI method. That is, a single server hosts applications that users run remotely rather than having them installed locally.

This was a bit messy because the user had a Terminal Services window to navigate, similar to a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) session. Newer technology allows a single application icon to appear on the user's local desktop for the remote application, giving the user a more uniform experience. Other VDI options include a virtual workstation where hardware such as special-purpose blade enclosures host the physical workstations in a secure data center and users connect to them with a thin client, although this method is not yet as popular as the others.

The VDI in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 ties the various remote desktop and virtual desktop features together in a more integrated fashion for presentation to the user. Microsoft has also decided to rename the whole Terminal Services suite to "Remote Desktop Services."

I've actually seen a lot of hands go up when I've asked how many people in my sessions are virtualizing desktops, so it seems to be gaining popularity. The VDI improvements in R2 include an improved look and feel for the user, which helps erase the remote versus local app boundary. The new Remote App and Desktop Connection feature provides a control panel for managers to easily deliver remote apps or desktops to Windows 7 users.

For some excellent technical details about Remote Desktop Services with Windows Server 2008 R2, click here.

9. GUI Goodies
This is the fun stuff about Windows 7. These are the killer features that make me want to upgrade all my personal workstations to the new OS. They're impossible to apply a monetary value to, but users will love them. Many of these are holdovers from Vista, but there are some sweet tweaks and additions. Note that the Aero features require at least 256MB video RAM.

• User Account Control (UAC): Microsoft has provided two additional options for UAC. So now, the options are:
• Never notify me
• Don't notify me when I make changes to Windows settings (don't dim the desktop)
• Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer [the default]
• Always notify me
• Aero Snap (new feature): This is my favorite. Grab the title bar of a window and drag it to the side of the screen. When the cursor hits the screen edge on the right side of the display, the window stretches to occupy the right side of the screen, and vice versa for the left side. This is very handy for side-by-side comparisons. Drag it to the top of the screen, and it maximizes it. Grab it and move it in any direction, and it snaps back to the original size.
• Aero Peek (new feature): Click the show-desktop icon, now a vertical bar at the right side of the notification area on the task bar, and it hides the windows, but shows an outline of them.
• Aero Shake (new feature): This is another favorite, not a nervous condition. Microsoft says users typically have five to 15 windows open at a time. I'm probably on the high end of that scale. So to help windows litterbugs, the Aero Shake was created. Grab the title bar of any active window and jiggle it back and forth a couple of times. All the other windows will disappear by minimizing. Shake it again and they all reappear.
• Alt-Tab: This feature shows a preview of the app, not just the name.
• Recently used list: There's no more Documents list in the Start menu for recently used docs. Now, each app maintains its own list. So I see all the recent Word docs in the Word app on the task bar, all the Excel docs in the Excel icon on the task bar, and so on. This provides a lot more recent docs to be listed. Note that third-party apps must use Microsoft-provided APIs to show their recently used lists.
• Libraries (new feature): This is a new feature in Windows Explorer. Now there's a Libraries folder that includes subfolders called documents, music, pictures and videos. If you have 500 documents in 100 different directories, it's challenging to find them all. But they'll all be in the Documents library, so you don't have to search.
• Customizable Task bar and notification area (new feature): Finally, we have control over the Task bar and notification area. You can move icons to different positions on the Task bar and add or remove icons in the notification area.
• User Profiles: Don't forget the moving of user profiles to the C:\Users directory, eliminating the Documents and Settings directory and making profile data much easier to find.

10. BitLocker To Go
Windows 7 moves BitLocker to a more personal level by protecting USB "jump" drives. Insert a USB drive and right-click on that drive's icon in Explorer. Then, choose Turn on Bit Locker. It will encrypt the drive and ask you to specify a password. While you need Windows 7 to encrypt the USB drive, you can insert it in any Vista or XP computer, enter the password and get access to the drive. You can also choose to enter your smart card to protect the drive. This is handy for protecting sensitive data on a medium that's not typically secure.

Impressive Package
Well, there you have it. As one of those naysayers who never did upgrade to Vista, I'm impressed with Windows 7, based not on published hype but on my own experience. There are a lot of very good features that can produce cost savings and a lot of intangibles that will make your users happy.